


It Couldn't Be

by Halfblood_Fiend



Series: It Has Always Been You (Inquisitor Viktoriea Trevelyan X Commander Cullen Rutherford) [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: A little fluffy, AU, F/M, Ferelden Circle, Inquisition Intro, Long-Term Crush, Reunions, Shameless Cullen Adoration, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, a little angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 03:39:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4206582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfblood_Fiend/pseuds/Halfblood_Fiend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thrown into the tumult in the wake of the destruction of the Conclave, it seems Viktoriea Trevelyan's problems only get worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Couldn't Be

Green Fade energy swirled around her, cool tongues lapping her face and her arm. Viktoriea felt it prick at her skin—familiar like when she delved into the Fade to summon her own magic; foreign in it’s overwhelming capacity for power. The pressure in her hand built up, vibrating slowly along her arm and painfully rattling her very bones. Then, all at once, like a string stretched too far, the pressure snapped. Her arm suddenly alleviated, her body pitched backwards with the release of it and with a flash, the Rift was gone in the next moment; sucked back into the Fade from whence it came.

Panting, she bent over double, legs trembling violently.

“Sealed,” she heard the other mage, Solas say from her right. “As before.” The elf patted her shoulder consolingly. “You’re becoming quite proficient at this.”

Viktoriea nodded noncommittally.

“Let’s hope it works on the big one,” Varric said tersely, drawing near enough to lay a hand on Viktoriea’s elbow. She wanted to tell him she was alright, but she felt too winded from the Rift to speak.

A new voice called to them from behind and Viktoriea was suddenly alert. Her eyes widened at the voice that stirred memories in the back of her mind. Images pushed through her mind’s eye like a herd of Druffalo, trampling her calm and control with flashes of shouting Templars, screaming mages, and roaring demons. They were the sort of memories she tried to forget, but was always aware of. They lingered, a waiting spider in the back of her consciousness, waiting to trap her in her dreams. His was a voice she had tried and failed to forget, where even the thought of it constricted her heart. His voice was reminiscent of chaos and pain. She had grown to resent the sound, even the memories, only because she had so often loved them.

But for him to be here? That-that had to be impossible!

It couldn’t possibly be him.

The Maker wouldn’t be so cruel.

“Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the Rift? Well done.”

The renewed shaking in Viktoriea’s limbs was no longer from weariness. Did she dare lift her eyes to confirm what her heart already told her was true? She wasn’t sure she would survive the shock if she did.

Already warmth blossomed unbidden throughout her chest. Her heart tried to soar with joy but Viktoriea reined it in tightly. _Remember the last time?_ she reminded herself bitterly.

She has sworn to herself— _sworn to Andraste!_ —never again. _Never again._

“Do not congratulate me, Commander,” Cassandra sighed begrudgingly. “This is the prisoner’s doing.”

“Is it? I hope they’re right about you—” Viktoriea steeled herself as best as she could, but her painfully hammering heart and the nervousness in her stomach were hard to ignore. She pushed wearily off her thighs, but nothing— _nothing!_ —in this wide world or the Maker’s golden kingdom could have prepared her for seeing him again. “—We’ve lost a lot of people getting you…here…” His voice died in his throat as recognition sparked in his eyes.

An awkward silence settled over their confused group as Cullen gawked open-mouthed. Her heart fluttered uselessly. _Maker_ , she swore, _it_ was _Cullen!_ She could see the boy she knew in the hard line of his jaw, his caramel colored eyes, the curve of his lips, though he had changed so much besides. Did she even look the same? She didn’t know. He was still just as tall, even carried himself the same way. He seemed proud, if not the worse for wear. The fur of his collar caressed the rough planes of his face, his mahogany cloak whipped in the wind around battered, but shining plate armor. She felt so much smaller in comparison, suddenly. Unworthy. If she was nothing then, she felt even less now as she realized that none of her memories had done the beautiful Templar any justice.

“You’re not the only one hoping that,” Viktoriea joked weakly, trying to repress the ghost of the young love struck girl from the Fereldan Cirlce who awakened within her in Cullen’s presence.

_She was better than this; better than going weak-kneed and doey-eyed after all this time!_

“ _Viktoriea?_ ” he gasped.

“ _Viktoriea?” he whispered, scooting closer to her in the hidden alcove of the library. With his armor, he barely fit, and scraped loudly against the sides of the shelves. He winced at the sound, and paused to listen for more patrols. “You shouldn’t be here, Viktoriea…”_

She shook away the memory.

“You two _know_ each other?” Varric cried. He looked incredulously between the two of them. Viktoriea couldn’t meet his keen eye.

“Explanations later,” Cassandra snapped, shattering the aching moment like glass. As she passed, she eyed Viktoriea with undisguised curiosity which Viktoriea was happy to answer with a scowl. Whether she was upset with Cassandra or herself, she couldn’t tell. “We are pressing to the Temple. Commander, how is the way?”

“The way to the Temple should be clear,” Cullen replied, his eyes never leaving Viktoriea. She burned beneath his gaze, wishing the snow would swallow her to ease the heat. “Leliana will try to meet you there.”

Viktoriea forced herself to walk away, prying herself away from his captivating force. She took her staff from the holster on her back and thumbed the well worn wood thoughtfully.

As they left the forward camp and the haunting Templar further behind them, Viktoriea wondered if perhaps Andraste didn’t _choose_ her, maybe She was _punishing_ her.

**Author's Note:**

> As you may have gathered, in this AU Viktoriea spent some time in the Ferelden Circle before moving to the Circle in Ostwick. I like the shift and growth of the characters over the ten year period; both Cullen and Viktoriea have changed. We will probably see that a little more.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are loved. :]


End file.
